INTRODUCTION
India’s Election Commission, often a shining example of clean and independent elections around the world, is experiencing an historic crisis of institutional credibility. Mass protests against the Election Commission of India (ECI) and CEC Gyanesh Kumar, raging across the country, are attracting wide coverage by foreign news agencies. International press-whether it’s “The New York Times”, “The Economist”, the BBC, or “The Financial Times”-are watching to see if the world’s largest democracy can protect the sanctity of its electoral processes.
BACKGROUND
The current uproar started when investigation articles by The Indian Express brought to light rampant anomalies in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. While initially, SIR was introduced as a regular administrative function to revise and strengthen voter lists, the current version has, so far, led to the delisting of around 13.3 crore (133 million) names countrywide.
This mass purge has pressed poor citizens to grovel through bureaucratic terrors and give up their daily income to establish voting credentials. Opposition parties, student organization like the All-India Students’ Association (AISA), and youth-pressure group “Cockroach Janta Party,” initiated a broad-based protest called “Jantar Mantar Season 2,” pressuring the government to resign immediately on the resignation of CEC Gyanesh Kumar and suspend the SIR. The public distrust has been even further reinforced when the ruling government by-passed Supreme Court order and passed a law in 2023, gaining control of the appointment of the election commissioners.
KEY POINTS
The following key dimensions of the controversy have been asserted by mainstream international media: Disenfranchisement of Marginalized Communities (The New York Times): The New York Times noted that almost one billion voters are already being asked to prove their legitimacy in order to keep their voting rights. It further reported that around 90 million voters were omitted in “use group” categories including “absent, shifted, and others”, leading to concerns that the SIR exercise was disproportionately targeting marginalised communities, including India’s 200 million Muslims who typically did not support the government.
Systemic Manipulation (The Economist) Contrasting the ECI’s refrain that “not a single voter is to be left behind” and former CEC S Y Quraishi’s remark that its ‘reputation is being wrecked’, it reported how party workers have exploited the Form 7 filing spree to nominate legitimately registered voters. In West Bengal alone, more than 91 lakh names were eliminated, generating over 22 lakh appeals.
BBC: The BBC profile of CEC Gyanesh Kumar, 62, a career bureaucrat described as someone who is skilled at implementing the most challenging government policies. It said that Kumar is suddenly in the “ill-fitting” spotlight on the world stage and must defend the integrity and decision making of the institution over which he presides. The Financial Times detailed the authorities’ displays of force, from tear gas and water cannons to mass arrests against protesters. It pointed out that though the next national elections are not scheduled until 2029, state polls in some of the country’s most contentious states, including Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat, have become a vital political issue for voters.
ANALYSIS
However, the election commission has been a formidable bulwark for more than seven decades against the twin threats of electoral corruption and political excess. Yet, the recent troika of changes to commissioner selection processes, the massive deletion of voters’ names from the rolls, and the use of heavy-handed police repression of protesters has all but broken the public’s trust.
The global attention to this story highlights a broader re-evaluation: what was previously conceived as a standard administrative task was suddenly understood as a potent political instrument that could shift the course of an election in a handful of states. Through intimidation, the SIR exercise upends peoples’ calculations; between making a living and safeguarding their constitutionally protected fundamental rights – and risks institutionalizing administrative coercion.
CONCLUSION
Gyanesh Kumar and the Election Commission have become a flashpoint in global attention on Indian democracy. With the public protests gathering steam against the backdrop of upcoming state elections, the main issue highlighted in the international press seems to be: can the ECI, the ‘neutral referee’, turn around its image – or will India’s democracy fall further into disrepute?
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WRITTEN BY: AASTHA KEDIA
